On Friday, December 30, in the Russian Federation Embassy in Washington, DC, Archpriest Victor Potapov was awarded a special certificate from the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for his active cultural work. Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s Ambassador to the United States, opened the ceremony with the following words:

"I am very glad and proud to have the opportunity to greet you all at this little ceremony awarding Fr. Victor the honorary Certificate from the Government Commission on Compatriots Living Abroad. This award is a sign of recognition by Russia of those compatriots who do much for the advancement of the Russian language, for the bringing together of peoples, for helping those who have, owing to the whims of fate, found themselves abroad avoid losing their cultural and social connection with their homeland. Few men work so hard to make sure that their nation’s culture and their people’s language remained within the traditions, within the very blood of their compatriots, who have been destined to live outside of Russia. Few are the men like Fr. Victor, who over the course of his life has done, does and, I am sure, will again do so much.

"This is a man of high moral character; a man who proudly and intently bears the Russian spirit; a man who, in his time, created a religious radio program that, although perhaps not warmly greeted in the Soviet Union, nevertheless was greatly historically important in supporting both Russian culture and a knowledge of history; a man who created a publishing house for spiritual literature for Russia; a man who has done no small amount to preserve Russia’s historic and cultural heritage and develop it far from the homeland. I would like to add that this is a man who has done so much to support Russians, including those who fall on hard times abroad; a man who has made such a huge contribution to developing the ties of unification within our Church.

"All of us of sitting in this hall know Fr. Victor very well, so nothing I say here will come as much of a shock. But I would like to say that at home, in Russia, Fr. Victor is known for his remarkable work, and this small document, this Certificate from the Government Commission, is but a way of saying ‘Thank you’ to Fr. Victor for all that he does to support our compatriots, in that way upholding ties with his historic homeland. Back home we know all of this, and are grateful, and I am able to present Fr. Victor with this certificate on behalf of the Russian government for the great contributions he has made. Once more I would like to say, as a Russian, thank you for doing what you do, supporting your compatriots, supporting the country, and supporting those roots that you will never forget."

Accepting the high honor, Fr. Victor thanked the ambassador and said:

"Thank you very much for this honor; to be honest, I would say that I do what I do not because I must, or because this is some kind of labor, but simply because service to Christ’s Church demands service to one’s earthly homeland. I consider Russia to be not only our historic homeland, but our spiritual homeland, as well. In our youth, our parents and grandparents taught us that we must love Russia and serve her, and I hope that this award will serve as a recognition by the Russian government of the roll our Russian Church (now united, thank God) continues to play in the social life of Russian citizens and expatriates. Again, thank you for this. I am grateful to you and to Minister of Foreign Sergey Lavrov, in whose name this award was given. I greet you with the upcoming New Year and Feast of Christ’s Nativity."

The First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & York, was also present at the award ceremony, along with Eastern American Diocesan Secretary, and several parishioners of St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Washington.

Metropolitan Hilarion noted Fr. Victor’s important role and valuable participation in church life.

"Father Victor Potapov, as a graduate of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary and other institutions of higher learning later in life, was one of the main spokesmen for the Russian Orthodox Church during the years of the Cold War and Perestroika, working primarily in his capacity as a priest of the Russian Church Abroad in the religious program ‘Religion in our Life’ on Voice of America. Over the course of 35 years his program was listened to by many millions of people in the former Soviet Union, who thereby received information about the Orthodox faith, the history of Russia, the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, and the culture connected with them, much more than they could have received from other sources in those years. He played a very important role in the missionary work of the Church to those who were deprived of religious education in the Soviet Union.

"But in addition to this, Fr. Victor has been very energetic in his pastoral work as a priest in several parishes, and finally as rector of St. John the Baptist Cathedral in our nation’s capital. Through his labors, the church building was finally completed, was beautifully embellished with iconography, and has grown to be one of the most vibrant parishes in our Eastern American Diocese. Further, Fr. Victor has taken part in many Church- and culture-related organizations. He has written much on Church matters and has been a spokesman for the Church, taking part in many commissions of our Church here, as well as in the now-unified Church. He is a very talented and competent churchman, and we are proud of this recognition, bestowed upon him by the Russian Federation government for his work in propagating Russian culture and language, especially through his work in the Orthodox Church."

Media Office of the Eastern American Diocese

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